Dunguaire Castle ( ga, Dún Guaire) is a 16th-century

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

on the southeastern shore of

Galway Bay Galway Bay (Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galwa ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, near

Kinvara Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the Barony (Ireland), barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also ...

(also spelled Kinvarra). The name derives from the

Dun A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish language, Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), ...

(fort) of King Guaire, the legendary king of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. The castle's tower and its

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

have been restored, and the grounds are open to tourists during the summer. Visitor can also (pre-)book a banquet, with a four course meal and entertainment; it is offered from April to October.

History

The 19th century Gaelic scholar John O'Donovan states in his ''Ordnance Survey letters for County Galway'', and his book, ''The Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of the Hy-Fiachrach'', that Dunguaire was built by the Ó hEidhin (Hynes) clan, chiefs of

Coill Ua bhFiachrach Killovyeragh or Coill Ua bh-Fiachrach (meaning- wood of the Uí Fiachrach) was a sub division of the Uí Fiachrach Aidhne roughly coextensive with, but larger than, the parish of Kinvara in the south of County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The ...

, the district around Kinvara, and also of

Uí Fiachrach Aidhne Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne (also known as Hy Fiachrach) was a kingdom located in what is now the south of County Galway. Legendary origins and geography Originally known as Aidhne, it was said to have been settled by the mythical Fir Bolg. Dubhaltac ...

an area coextensive with the diocese of

Kilmacduagh Kilmacduagh () is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the site of Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Ki ...

covering the part of County Galway between

the Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burren ...

and Galway Bay to the west and

Slieve Aughty The Slieve Aughty ( ga, Sliabh Eachtaí) are a mountain range in the western part of Ireland spread over both County Galway and County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province ...

to the east. Dunguaire Castle was used in the 1969 Walt Disney movie ''

Guns in the Heather ''Guns in the Heather'' is a 1969 Walt Disney adventure film directed by Robert Butler and produced by Ron Miller. It stars Kurt Russell, Glenn Corbett and Alfred Burke. It was originally broadcast in parts on '' Walt Disney's Wonderful Wor ...

'' in which the castle was featured as

Boyne Castle Boyne Castle (also known as the Palace of Boyne) is a 16th-century quadrangular castle about east of Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of Boyne Bay.Coventry, Martin (2001). ''The Castles of Scotland''. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p. 87 His ...

. It was also the Scottish castle home of the main character in the 1979 film ''

North Sea Hijack ''North Sea Hijack'' (released as ''ffolkes'' outside the UK and as ''Assault Force'' on US TV) is a 1980 British adventure film starring Roger Moore, Lea Brodie, James Mason, Anthony Perkins and Michael Parks. It was directed by Andrew V. McLa ...

''.

Legends

Another regionally well known legend is the "Road of the Dishes" (Bothar na Mias), involving King Guaire and St. Colman of Kilmacduagh.

References

{{coord, 53.142, -8.926, type:landmark_scale:5000, display=title Castles in County Galway Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums in County Galway Former populated places in Ireland Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland